ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of traditional Iranian architecture and vernacular cooling systems. It discusses the climate and geography of Iran with a focus on Yazd, the city selected for the field studies. The chapter establishes a definition for passive cooling applicable for this research, and identifies and explains traditional passive cooling systems implemented in vernacular dwellings in the hot and dry climates of Iran. It describes the various models used to predict comfort temperature and explains their inherent flaws as well as their positive points. The chapter presents the perceptions of actual and potential users of vernacular passive cooling systems (VPCSs) about the positive and negative aspects of vernacular dwellings in Yazd and their integrated VPCSs. It suggests that VPCSs are already being replaced by electric coolers, and as a cooling system, on the whole, are regarded as non-practicable and obsolete.
